Various posts and personal logs from the Japanese countryside in the shadow of Mt. Fuji.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Another new car.

After a week of driving a cramped, smelly, rental car I finally got my car back. But they gave me a brand new one in its place! :D

Old above and new below.

Exactly 3 years ago, I got my first new car in Japan. I took care of that thing like I actually owned it despite it being a lease. I even became very comfortable with that car and its design but I couldn’t keep it because the lease company only deals in new models. No big loss though as I pay 11,000 yen less a month now for it and it’s new! Basically I upgraded from the 2007 year model to the brand new 2010 model. Fundamentally the cars are from the same maker and model but the newer one has a rounder shape a slightly better interior layout.
I’m not a huge fan of the newer “rounder” more aerodynamic exterior design though. I preferred the more boxy like shape of the car I had before. The boxy look made it more menacing and masculine. At least I thought so. Now my car has sissy new-age curves… I even lost a little head room in the driver’s seat and the trunk got chopped in half. I also lost my spare tire bay that used to be under the rear passenger seats. Now it’s bolted below the car ( I think). I still haven’t crawled under to confirm this but what good would that car jack be without a spare eh? Despite my misgivings about the exterior design changes, it’s basically the same car. It drives about the same and handles just like a box on 4 wheels should. I’m pleased.
If you have time, go ahead and check out the video walk through of the car below.

Here’s the video:

Also, here are a few things I missed in the video:
-My camera was being dumb and cut off the first few seconds of the video. I mentioned how the car is a “wa” number plate which is generally accepted in Japan as a rental car specification. In my case the car is being leased to me so it’s basically mine till I return it. It is also a tad strange because it has Yokohama plates on it instead of Yamanashi, where I live.
-Upon further inspection that white box was not just a pressure gage, it’s also a DC air pump that can be used with the flat repair kit.
-The old model had an onboard spare under the passenger seat space. The new model lost the spare tire space hence why I have the special flat repair kit. I’d still prefer a spare but whatever.
-The new model’s front lights are the biggest change as they are wrap around. I’m not really into that style but the car’s cheap so I guess that’s OK too.